


Ennui

by cian1675



Category: Block B
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Bittersweet, Gen, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M, Someone dies, as per the warning, character with detached emotions, don't expect a happy fic, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 11:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7637725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cian1675/pseuds/cian1675
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaehyo is bored. It's the only constant in his existence. It's the only thing he knows, until Jiho.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ennui

Jaehyo is bored.

That isn’t anything new. After all, it’s not like he ever remembered anything but the endless expanse of ennui that came with his long and unnatural existence until he chanced upon Jiho.

 

***

Jaehyo saw Jiho for the first time in a nondescript bar. Jaehyo was just wandering, bored but not particularly hungry, making his way through the crowd aimlessly, until he had seen someone rapping on the small stage. The guy’s bangs were dripping sweat onto the wooden floor, but the concentration on his face was amazing as he spat out complicated tangles of rhymes and Jaehyo was suddenly not bored anymore.

He then spent the next hour or so listening to Jiho’s performance on stage, even though hardly anyone else was paying any heed, more concerned with the drinks in their hands and getting drunk. He hadn’t learnt Jiho’s name then. That happened days later, when Jaehyo was back in the bar again for the fifth night that week to finally hear Jiho introduce himself before a performance.

But on that first day, before Jaehyo knew Jiho’s name, Jaehyo had waited near the stage until Jiho finished his last rap. It wasn’t a wait where he was waiting for the end. Instead, it was one where the wait itself was as enjoyable as the end. When Jiho got off the stage, staggering just a little, Jaehyo made his way over to casually catch him, careful not to appear there too quickly. He managed to steady the rapper, although in his haste to appear mostly normal, Jaehyo ended up falling on the ground himself.

“Are you okay?”

Jaehyo had looked at the offered hand, before letting Jiho pull him up to his feet. He hadn’t stumbled in ages ( _years_ ), but Jaehyo didn’t let it faze him.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, careful to let his voice sound mostly human, grateful that he had remembered to alter his features slightly before entering the bar so he looked more _alive_ , and less attractive.

“Good,” Jiho replied. There wasn’t anything else said and before Jaehyo realized, Jiho had already slipped off in the crowd.

 

 

For a human, Jiho was rude as hell. Jaehyo went back to the bar only twice a week, having decided that he couldn’t keep appearing in front of the rapper so often if he didn’t want to raise suspicions. Jiho barely acknowledged his presence when he was on stage and even off-stage, he hardly spared a nod towards Jaehyo even though Jaehyo was probably his only consistent audience or even at times his _only_ audience. But Jaehyo had time, so he waited, night after night, nursing a drink that he barely sipped, waiting for Jiho to approach him.

Because that’s what the humans always do, if he waited long enough.

Much as Jiho was more amusing to watch than most other humans, he too, was like all the other humans Jaehyo had encountered in his many years of being on this earth. One evening when the bar was particularly empty, Jiho drifted towards Jaehyo, setting his beer down and taking a seat beside him without asking. It’s not exactly good etiquette, to sit immediately next to Jaehyo at the bar without at least casually asking or acknowledging his presence, but Jaehyo had already gathered that Jiho wasn’t very concerned with social niceties.

He didn’t particularly like Jiho at that time. But Jaehyo has been around for much too long, bored and wanting of entertainment, and Jiho was interesting to observe, so why not? It was the first time Jaehyo had actually bothered hanging out with humans for longer than necessary to hunt them for their blood. But it countered his boredom much more than the necessary hunts for sustenance did, so Jaehyo pretended to be the shallow, clumsy human Jiho probably thought him to be.

“A-aren’t you the r-rapper? The o-one on s-stage just now?” Jaehyo let his words slur ever so slightly, giving Jiho the impression that he was drunk even though he had hardly drank from his glass. It isn’t as if vampires could get drunk off alcohol anyway, but Jiho hadn’t known that, or the fact that Jaehyo was anything but human.

“Yeah. Who are you?” Jiho’s reply had been gruff, but Jaehyo could tell the human was interested, even if he was pretending not to be. The thought that the human was trying so hard amused Jaehyo even though he kept his expression slack, mumbling his name (or rather the name he uses because he can no longer remember what his original name had been after centuries of existence), letting his hand fall as if he couldn’t control his limbs while inebriated.

“Shit,” Jiho had grunted when Jaehyo deliberately slumped onto the guy’s shoulders, “Are you drunk? Jaehyo-ssi? Do you have someone here who can bring you home?”

Jaehyo kept up with the act, uttering nonsense, and that was how Jiho ended up bringing Jaehyo into his flat for the first time.

 

 

Contrary to popular belief, vampires do not actually burn under sunlight. It’s mostly an inconvenience for Jaehyo, who finds it hard to see properly under the strong lights. His skin gets oddly red if exposed to direct sunlight for too long, but the soft rays of sunlight streaming into Jiho’s bedroom hadn’t been a concern when Jaehyo pretended to wake up with a hangover.

“You’re up,” Jiho had said without flourish, and Jaehyo squinted at his face.

“Do you have water?”

“Yeah. Take these pills, it’ll help your hangover.”

Jaehyo had swallowed the pills and drank the whole glass of water, staggering just a little to see what Jiho would do. The human hadn’t disappointed, mumbling how Jaehyo was an inconvenience but pressing a hand down to make Jaehyo lie down to sleep again anyway. A contradiction. That was what Jiho was. And Jaehyo enjoyed every moment of it. It was a good break from the never ending boredom that was a constant in his nearly immortal life.

 

 

Somehow Jiho let Jaehyo in to his house when Jaehyo appeared outside his flat one evening. Jaehyo didn’t even use any mind tricks. The only glamour he had was the one he used to alter his appearance to be less striking, even if by human standards he still appeared as a handsome young man.

“What are you doing here?” Jiho had asked, door slightly open but using his body to block the entrance to his house.

“Got kicked out of my house. Roommate’s having a huge orgy and I’m not invited,” Jaehyo lied, curious what Jiho’s reaction would be.

Barely batting an eyelid, Jiho had given a lopsided grin, muttering, “Guess life sucks huh, not being invited to an orgy. Though, you’re kind of handsome so I don’t see why you weren’t invited.”

The second sentence seemed to be a slip of tongue, because Jaehyo had seen the blood rushing to the human’s face, colouring it red. The sight made him laugh for the first time Jaehyo remembers in his long existence. It only made Jiho redder though, and eventually Jaehyo had said, “So, are you inviting me in or leaving me here outside? We can have our own _good time_ if you let me in, you know.”

The sexual innuendo was thick in the air, and Jaehyo wasn’t sure if he was overstepping boundaries. But after a long moment when Jiho just stared at him, mouth slightly agape, the human blinked slowly, swallowing before he said, “Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

Jaehyo had pouted then, still absorbed in his role as the ditzy pretty face who wasn’t terribly smart, and Jiho had mumbled, “This is the first time someone so good looking has come on to me so fast,” although he moved to let Jaehyo into the house.

 

 

Jiho started off being entertainment on the side to cure his ennui, but after a while Jaehyo found himself looking forward to the impromptu visits he made to Jiho’s house. It got to a point where he hunted as quickly as he could so he could spare an hour observing the guy every night, even if he didn’t always appear in front of Jiho. He was still aware of the false identity he had built for himself around Jiho – a recently graduated student looking for a job – knowing that appearing too often before the human would only raise suspicions, so Jaehyo restricted himself to mostly looking from the shadows. It wasn’t as fun as actually interacting with Jiho, but Jaehyo still enjoyed seeing Jiho stare at the computer for hours on end, scribbling things on his notebook and scratching his head in frustration, or lounging around in only boxers as he cooked a late supper on nights he didn’t perform at the bar.

Jaehyo was always careful not to show hints of his unhuman nature to Jiho, making sure he was well-fed before he appeared in front of Jiho, and always wearing a glamor to look more human-like. He even faked a zit on his forehead one day, getting a chuckle from Jiho who commented that for once his smooth face wasn’t as perfect as it usually is. Jaehyo had pretended to frown then, acting like he was unhappy that Jiho had noticed the blemish, but he was actually amused by how Jiho accepted and liked him more when he noticed his supposedly human imperfections. It made Jiho’s heart pump just a bit faster, and Jaehyo was glad he always drank more blood than he needed before he visited Jiho because he would not be tempted to take any from this human. Jiho was entertainment, not food, and Jaehyo didn’t want to ruin that distinction.

Food was killed and drained. Jiho though, Jiho was to be alive and well.

So Jaehyo ignored the fact that he drank more humans in the short two months he knew Jiho, just to be sure that he would not harm the human. Because, more than the messy killings, the feeling of having something to look forward to in his otherwise long and monotonous life was worth so much more.

 

 

The time he had with Jiho was always thoroughly enjoyable, even if they didn’t always do much. At first Jiho assumed Jaehyo only appeared for a booty call, and had obliged as such. But after a while, Jiho started showing Jaehyo his work, the rap and music he wrote, and Jaehyo listened attentively to every word, because the passion Jiho had in his work was so strong, it made Jaehyo feel like he shared the same drive, the same motivation. Sometimes Jaehyo bought takeout to bring to Jiho’s house when he managed to get spare cash from his victims’ pockets. Jiho always offered to share the food, and after a few occasions when Jaehyo rejected using the excuses that he had already eaten or was watching his weight, he eventually gave in and ate some fried chicken one day.

It did nothing for Jaehyo’s stomach, which doesn’t require human food, but it was salty and spicy – a new experience, not altogether unpleasant – so Jaehyo ate some to placate Jiho. It earned Jaehyo a cute kiss from Jiho on the corner of his mouth, done mostly for fun rather than as something sexual, but it made Jaehyo pause. He didn’t have time to dwell on it at that time though, because Jiho had already turned his attention to something else and Jaehyo was quick to follow suit.

But dwell on it Jaehyo did, when he was alone in his basement, wondering why a chaste kiss had fazed him when nothing much else had. He never got his answer no matter how long he ruminated about it, and eventually Jaehyo pushed the thought aside. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t forget about it after enough time passed. At some point it wouldn’t even matter at all, even if he thought the world of it right now. That is the burden he has to bear with the length of his existence.

 

 

The time with Jiho was fun, but Jaehyo knew it wouldn’t last. What he hadn’t expected was just how short it would be. He was in his basement, ready to go out to find fresh blood for the night, when he found a letter under his door. The letter was unmarked, and its contents contained only an address, but Jaehyo knew what it meant.

He was being summoned to the council.

The vampires have managed to hide from the humans for so long only because they have a council in each city to police their kind. Kill the rogues; restrain the fledgings gone wild; punish the transgressors. Jaehyo had only seen the council once, when he first moved from Busan into Seoul, and that was more for formalities than anything else. He hadn’t expected to see them again so soon. But he supposed they had been watching him and might have found his actions of late questionable. So Jaehyo made his way to the address given once he hastily filled his stomach.

There wasn’t much in the underground office, just two vampires across the table from Jaehyo and two guards outside the room. They told him that he had been seen fooling around with a human for the past few months, which might have been acceptable if it was to hunt, but Jaehyo had not made any moves thus far.

“This is cause for concern,” the older vampire had said, implications clear.

The younger vampire in the council, younger but still much older than Jaehyo by centuries at least, then added, “I don’t care if you were toying with the human or not. But know this. You have two options. Kill the human or be killed by us. Don’t even think about escaping because we have eyes everywhere.”

Jaehyo hadn’t doubted their words. He hadn’t bothered trying to escape the meeting with the council earlier because he knew he wouldn’t get far anyway. The council controlled the vampires, and even if Jaehyo is old, he is nowhere near skilled enough to hide from the council, so he just nodded and left the room.

 

 

The choice wasn’t too difficult. Jaehyo likes his life, even if it’s boring.

So he went to Jiho’s apartment with fried chicken as he always did, pressing the human’s body into his bed, licking kisses into his mouth. It was all so familiar, but Jaehyo did something he hadn’t done before. He let his fangs grow, piercing Jiho’s neck too easily. Jiho struggled, just a little, before the bite-induced hazy euphoria overcame him. After that, it was too easy. Jaehyo drank Jiho’s blood until he faded out, face completely blissful, limbs slack. It wasn’t painful, Jaehyo knew from the countless humans he had fed on. It was probably the best option for ending Jiho’s life that he could do without getting himself into trouble from the council.

He never got any other notice from the council after that.

***

 

Now that Jiho’s gone though, Jaehyo’s bored again. There’s a little bit of something that might be sadness inside him, but Jaehyo’s too old to remember what real emotions feel like beyond an endless expanse of ennui so he doesn’t recognize it for what it is.

_Love._

_Regret._

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write some Jaeco oneshot and I've always wanted to write a vampire fic, so this happened. 
> 
> If you liked it, please leave me kudos, and I'll love to hear what you think in the comments. :)


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